1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an application program distributing apparatus, an image processing apparatus and a program.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional examples of a protocol for transmission of an e-mail on the Internet include SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) and the like. In general, an e-mail transmitted using such a protocol is not subjected to encryption processing and, consequently, has a problem of interception by a third party. In order to solve this problem, there has been devised a protocol referred to as S/MIME (Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions).
However, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2003-036231 (see paragraph “0006”) points out a disadvantage of transmission of an e-mail using the S/MIME. That is, the transmission using the S/MIME requires complicated operation and management and, consequently, does not come into widespread use, contrary to expectations.
In order to put the S/MIME into widespread use, it is considered that an e-mail transmission program (mailer) is allowed to have a function of encrypting/decrypting an S/MIME e-mail. However, a high-performance mailer having a complicated structure becomes a target for an illegal program such as a computer virus in some cases. In addition, some users prefer a mailer having a simple structure.